College Football

[Artsda]

Alabama just is getting no competition in these games, 48-0 vs Kent?

[Calvada]

Ken Starr:  "A grave injustice was done to Art Briles."   

Sweet baby Jesus, I guess if it's not a blow job in the Oval Office, sex crimes just don't matter.  Ken, do the world a favor and shut the hell up.  You are the ultimate enabler of truly disgusting, CRIMINAL behavior.  It is beyond comprehension that you can't see that. 

[AimingforYoko]

Yeah, Ken Starr's a tool, but we knew that.

So Bomani Jones called Auburn-LSU a "Loser leaves town" game, but is the seat warming up in South Bend? Or will firing the defensive coordinator placate the Subway Alums?

[Artsda]

That LSU vs Auburn ending was insane! That is a crazy ending that will be talked about for years, what a heartbreaker for LSU.

[roamyn]

Yay Wisconsin!

[Evolution101]

College Gameday will be in Clemson for Louisville/Clemson.

Here's what I learned in week 4:

• There were a number of close finishes this week: LSU/Auburn, Stanford/UCLA, Pittsburgh/North Carolina, BYU/West Virginia, Washington/Arizona, USC/Utah, Duke/Notre Dame, Colorado/Oregon.
• Glad my guys got back in the W column, but that defense needs a lot of work.
• Auburn should thank the replay booth, otherwise they would be sitting at 1-3 right now.
• After 11 straight losses, Tennessee finally beat That Team From Gainesville by scoring 38 straight points.  That Team From Gainesville led by 21 at one point, but completely choked it away.  Speaking of choking...
• California had Arizona State down for the count and foolishly stepped off the gas pedal.
• Meanwhile, Ole Miss didn't choke in a game for once.
• While one streak was broken, one stayed intact.  Stanford has now won 9 straight against UCLA.  That sets up a big Pac-12 showdown between Stanford and Washington on Friday.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Evolution101

[Minneapple]

Wisconsin hasn't won in East Lansing in forever. Moreover that was a dominant win. The defense is amazing. On Wisconsin!

[Popples]

LSU head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron are out.

[Artsda]

Not surprised. That's been coming since the end of last season and that Auburn loss with that ending play was probably enough.

[roamyn]

Defensive coordinator at ND has been fired.

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

LSU head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron are out.

 

46 minutes ago, roamyn said:

Defensive coordinator at ND has been fired.

Neither one a surprise. As I said upthread, Bomani Jones said the LSU-Auburn game was a loser leaves town game. If Auburn had lost, Malzahn would've been fired.

[Popples]

18 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

 

Neither one a surprise. As I said upthread, Bomani Jones said the LSU-Auburn game was a loser leaves town game. If Auburn had lost, Malzahn would've been fired.

He seemed a bit surprised it happened so soon.

[Mischievious]

I have to keep checking to make sure I'm breathing because my alma mater (Nebraska) is ranked 15th and undefeated. Have we finally turned the corner or is this just an optical illusion? If you remove our stupid mistakes, the game against Northwestern would have been far less excited and we just can't have that in the battle of NU. Loved how several of our players stepped up and held the American flag to keep it from falling on the ground. Outdoor acoustics are not a friend of Jim Cornelison (spelling?). Thank you Northwestern for wearing the Sam Foltz helmet stickers. If they focus on little tributes each game, as they should for even just a minute or two, I need to remember tissues. 

***I fully don't expect us to end the season undefeated but it has been awhile since the start of the season has been so optimistic.

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Mischievious said:

I have to keep checking to make sure I'm breathing because my alma mater (Nebraska) is ranked 15th and undefeated. Have we finally turned the corner or is this just an optical illusion? If you remove our stupid mistakes, the game against Northwestern would have been far less excited and we just can't have that in the battle of NU. Loved how several of our players stepped up and held the American flag to keep it from falling on the ground. Outdoor acoustics are not a friend of Jim Cornelison (spelling?). Thank you Northwestern for wearing the Sam Foltz helmet stickers. If they focus on little tributes each game, as they should for even just a minute or two, I need to remember tissues. 

***I fully don't expect us to end the season undefeated but it has been awhile since the start of the season has been so optimistic.

You should roll into Madison 7-0. Your next three opponents are Illinois, Indiana and Purdue.

[ketchuplover]

Sadly I think the Wolverines will devour the Badgers.  I am never wong.

[AndreaK1041]

2 hours ago, ketchuplover said:

Sadly I think the Wolverines will devour the Badgers.  I am never wong.

Glad to hear it!

I'm so relieved that LSU waited until now to fire Les Miles, because he could have easily moved into the Michigan HC job. I think we are significantly better off with showtime Harbaugh.

I'm nervous for next week.  There is no telling if Michigan is any good, we haven't actually played anyone yet.

[benteen]

Wisconsin's win over Michigan State was impressive.  You would think after four games, including LSU and Michigan State that the schedule would get easier but you'd be wrong.  I'll root for Wisconsin though anyway.

Knew Penn State would get blown out by Michigan (their defense is injury-ridden) but I expected better out of that offense.  Michigan has a good defense but it's that THAT good.

[Minneapple]

I think LSU fired Les now partly because he refused to fire his good buddy Cam Cameron. There is no earthly reason a team with all that offensive talent should struggle so much on offense.

As for replacements, Tom Herman? Someone said Art Briles and I can't believe they'd stoop that low, but who knows? Jimbo would probably say no.

Les will land somewhere. Auburn maybe. Texas if they fire Strong. Southern Cal if they get over themselves.

[roamyn]

4 hours ago, AndreaK1041 said:

Glad to hear it!

I'm so relieved that LSU waited until now to fire Les Miles, because he could have easily moved into the Michigan HC job. I think we are significantly better off with showtime Harbaugh.

I'm nervous for next week.  There is no telling if Michigan is any good, we haven't actually played anyone yet.

According to someone who was on two search committees, Les Miles was NEVER on any list for UM - aka That School Up North.

Apparently there's bad blood between him & Lloyd Carr, and Lloyd still has some pull with TPTB.

I can't imagine anyone being on Lloyd's bad side - outside of Tressel.  He seens like too nice a guy.

[topanga]

On 9/19/2016 at 0:29 PM, Evolution101 said:

So here's what I learned in week 3:

 

• I knew that high ranking was too good to be true.  My guys were exposed big time against Louisville.  Time to go back to the drawing board.  I have to give props to the Cards, they had Florida State by the throat and didn't let go until the game was over.  That's how it's done, especially against a big-name opponent.
• North Dakota State is 5-0 against Power 5 teams since 2010.
• Oklahoma QB Austin Kendall had some words about Ohio State's defense prior to the game.  Maybe now he'll think twice before making that same mistake.
• Wisconsin clearly doesn't deserve its Top 10 ranking.
• With Cincinnati now out of the way, Houston should be undefeated until November.
• The Big 12 is officially out of playoff contention.

 

I was traveling last week so I missed most of last week's game, but did catch the end of Arkansas/TCU.  What an ending.

I actually like all of the parity and upsets this season. It makes the games more exciting and shows that anyone can be beaten (anyone except Alabama, I mean). 

Of course it's not good for coaches, and the Big schools have gotten used to having undefeated or nearly undefeated seasons. Oh, well. 

[Minneapple]

Les Miles was absolutely on Michigan's list, twice in fact. In 2007 when they fired Lloyd, the rumors were so crazy that he had to hold a press conference to announce to the world that he was staying at LSU. Then in 2010 after RichRod was fired, he was again on the list, reportedly rejecting Michigan's offer. I wouldn't be surprised if they sort of kicked the tires on him one more time, a couple years ago before it became clear that they were making heart eyes at the Khakis. 

[AndreaK1041]

Yeah and Harbaugh's already been quoted in the press as wanting to bring Miles on in some sort of advisory capacity for the rest of this season. I do believe that Carr and Miles did have some sort of tiff that made him leave the Michigan coaching staff, but let's face it... at this point Harbaugh is more powerful than Lloyd Carr.  

Imagine if it turned into some sort of Saban/Kiffin situation next year. I seriously doubt it since Harbaugh built his team himself, but stranger things have happened. I can imagine them screaming at each other on the sidelines mid-game and it all turning into a literal sideshow.

[roamyn]

9 minutes ago, AndreaK1041 said:

Yeah and Harbaugh's already been quoted in the press as wanting to bring Miles on in some sort of advisory capacity for the rest of this season. I do believe that Carr and Miles did have some sort of tiff that made him leave the Michigan coaching staff, but let's face it... at this point Harbaugh is more powerful than Lloyd Carr.  

Imagine if it turned into some sort of Saban/Kiffin situation next year. I seriously doubt it since Harbaugh built his team himself, but stranger things have happened. I can imagine them screaming at each other on the sidelines mid-game and it all turning into a literal sideshow.

He might be saying that, but this guy that is a friend of a friend, was on BOTH selection committees, and said Les was NEVER on the table.  PERIOD.  And I trust my friend's source.  He's apparently a UM Booster and very involved with UM alumnus activities.   He's also a personal friend of Lloyd's.

Just because Les held a press conference, or rumors flew, doesn't make it fact.

[Minneapple]

Sure, yeah. Because the guy on Michigan's selection committee, a close personal friend of Lloyd's, isn't biased at all, doesn't want to make it seem like Les said no to Michigan. 

OF COURSE Michigan contacted Les Miles. They'd have been crazy not to. Everyone knows how nutty Michigan is about their Michigan Man crap and traditions. And Miles is a Michigan Man. And he's a good coach.

Now that I'm thinking about it I kind of want Les on Harbaugh's staff. Miles' brand of low-key insanity plus Harbaugh's ALL GO ALL THE TIME insanity? It'd be the most entertaining coaching staff ever.

[anyanka323]

On 9/18/2016 at 10:36 PM, Minneapple said:

ABC didn't even want Michigan State-Wisconsin; they chose Michigan-Penn State as the 3:30 game. The game between two top-15 teams will be a noon kick on BTN. I mean, I get it. Michigan State is perpetually Michigan's little brother and Wisconsin is not a big national name. Not as big as Penn State or Michigan anyway.

But if the football gods are just (I know, they probably aren't), Wisconsin will beat MSU and Michigan and then College Gameday will be in Madison for the Ohio State game.

Big 10 Network gets first choice for certain time slots.  The MSU-Wisc was a good pickup for them.  Other than Matt Millen, I do prefer the Big 10 Network announcers and commentators because they are more knowledgeable about Big 10 football than the ABC/ESPN crew. 

I was somewhat disappointed that Gameday wasn't going to Ann Arbor this week, but there are other interesting games going on.  I don't blame them for choosing Louisville-Clemson, which is likely to determine the ACC winner and one playoff participant.  Wisconsin was Michigan's best home game this year.  As a Michigan fan, I don't like that if OSU is at Ann Arbor, then they play MSU in East Lansing and vice versa.  I can't see Gameday coming to Ann Arbor for any of Michigan's other home games.  I do think that there's a good chance Gameday will be in Madison for the Oct. 9 OSU game.

[Minneapple]

For last Saturday, ABC had first choice, then BTN, then ESPN. Usually it's ABC, ESPN, then BTN gets the dregs. ABC chose Michigan/Penn State over Wisconsin/MSU. Michigan and PSU are both big popular programs so it's understandable.

Wisconsin was Michigan's best home game this year.  

The rest of Michigan's home slate is kind of pathetic but the road schedule is a tough one. There are games at Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State.

I still can't believe it's been six years since Wisconsin and Michigan played. This is not your father's Big Ten. Or even MY Big Ten! In 2010, RichRod was the head coach at Michigan and Bielema at Wisconsin. Wisconsin grabbed a rare victory at the Big House, a big 48-28 win. I'll never forget that game, it was amazing. Wisconsin ran the ball on every play in the second half, and most Badger fans believe Bielema did it to silence people who accused him of running up the score on Indiana the week before. 

[Calvada]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 11:05 AM, anyanka323 said:

I do think that there's a good chance Gameday will be in Madison for the Oct. 9 OSU game.

They will have a long wait, since the game is on Oct. 15.  Oct. 8 (not 9) is the Badgers' bye. 

[nowandlater]

On 9/28/2016 at 9:55 PM, Minneapple said:

I still can't believe it's been six years since Wisconsin and Michigan played.

It's really weird that it would be that long. Since Wisconsin and Michigan last played, Cal and Texas have battled it out 3 times (2011, 2015, 2016).

[twoods]

Yikes, Stanford. How embarrassing. Guess no PAC 12 teams will be in the playoffs- Washington is bound to lose to a crappy team like they always do.

[Popples]

Alabama QB Blake Barnett withdraws from school; Saban calls him a quitter.

From the article:
 

Quote

"It's one of those things where I think the culture has changed a little bit," Saban said on his weekly radio show, via AL.com. "I think there's a certain pride people have in competition. There's certain things that I was taught growing up about not quitting and seeing things through."

It's really sad that Nick Saban has been struck down with amnesia since he can't remember how he told the Miami Dolphins he wasn't leaving them to coach for Alabama.

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

It's really sad that Nick Saban has been struck down with amnesia since he can't remember how he told the Miami Dolphins he wasn't leaving them to coach for Alabama.

Well, that's different. He's talking about commitments to him.

[ketchuplover]

Louisville

Clemson

Be there

Aloha

[bosawks]

10 hours ago, Popples said:

Alabama QB Blake Barnett withdraws from school; Saban calls him a quitter.

From the article:
 

It's really sad that Nick Saban has been struck down with amnesia since he can't remember how he told the Miami Dolphins he wasn't leaving them to coach for Alabama.

 

8 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Well, that's different. He's talking about commitments to him.

To be fair if anyone can recognize a quitter it should be Saban.....

[ElDosEquis]

Seriously,

Fireworks and fucking balloons to start the game?

[Artsda]

Did not expect Tarheels to pull that off.

Hypocritical comment by Saban. 

Edited October 2, 2016 by Artsda

[roamyn]

Wow!  What an ending to the TN/GA game! 

Not one, but TWO Hail Mary's.  And the fact that Jennings held onto the ball amidst all those defenders, and while landing on his back.  Equally riveting were the GA fans they showed with stunned looks and dropped jaws.

On the negative side, the WI/MI game (which we had on podcast) was boring and frustrating.   At least it showed that MI might not quite be ready for the CFP.

[Minneapple]

Man, if Wisconsin's offense had even a semblance of a pulse.

Tennessee-Georgia was KEE-RAZY. Also FSU losing to UNC on a last-second field goal. Some wacky happenings today.

[ElDosEquis]

Why is it you wait all week to get to YOUR game and the announcers and refs turn out to be fucking dicks?

The replay shows obvious fouls - the refs don't call them and the announcers don't say jack shit about them?

Where is Football Jesus when you need him?

1 hour ago, roamyn said:

Wow!  What an ending to the TN/GA game! 

Not one, but TWO Hail Mary's.  And the fact that Jennings held onto the ball amidst all those defenders, and while landing on his back.  Equally riveting were the GA fans they showed with stunned looks and dropped jaws.

On the negative side, the WI/MI game (which we had on podcast) was boring and frustrating.   At least it showed that MI might not quite be ready for the CFP.

Football Jesus in action. He has a soft spot for Mary.........Really!

Edited October 2, 2016 by ElDosEquis

[Calvada]

Wisconsin's offense struggled all day.  Young, banged up o-line + freshman QB making his second start = lots of bad plays.  The Wisconsin defense played great though, especially TJ Watt.  I wonder if it's possible for the Watts to have any more sons? 

[roamyn]

So much for Louisville going undefeated until the Houston game.   That was poor play calling and time mgmt. 

[ElDosEquis]

Happy Birthday to XXXXXXX

Happy Birthday to XXXXXX

Happy Birthday to XXXXXXXX

Happy Birthday to you.

Gift wrapped in black and white stripes.

Assholes.

[FuriousStyles]

1 hour ago, roamyn said:

So much for Louisville going undefeated until the Houston game.   That was poor play calling and time mgmt. 

Meh....if the Louisville receiver had actually tried to get the 1st down inside of I dont know....not!...they would have been fine.  They had plenty of time at the end to score a td.  The announcers said maybe the kid didn't know where the 1st down marker was or whatever the case is, but damn it who cares.  He should have been trying to get into the end zone regardless. 

[Evolution101]

Here's what I learned in week 5:

• Another week with some close finishes.  Unfortunately for me, my guys were on the wrong end of one of those finishes.
• How about that Tenneseee/Georgia ending?  Just when it looked like Georgia was gonna eek out a win, Tennessee pulled out a Hail Mary.  Speaking of which...
• Note to defenders: in the event of a Hail Mary, do not, I repeat, DO NOT try to catch the ball.  Instead, knock it down.
• Charlie Strong's seat is getting hotter by the week.  Texas has given up 99 points in their last two games.
• After stomping Stanford, Washington certainly looks for real.  Now watch them lose to Oregon next week.
• First a bad loss to Wisconsin, now an overtime loss at Indiana.  Could Michigan State be in the midst of a meltdown?
• Michigan won't be undefeated heading into the Ohio State game.  Someone will trip them up.
• Tough luck for Louisville.  Just another yard or two and they might have won the game.

[Bastet]

While I'm happy to have a conference win, I would have liked to see what USC could do in the second half against an Arizona St. team that wasn't reduced to a back-up QB.  Because the Trojans, after an initial few minutes that made me think, "Oh, here we go again," played a beautifully dominant first half.  But after tossing away last week's game, I wanted to see if they could sustain it given the Sun Devils' penchant for monstrous fourth-quarter comebacks.  USC is so horribly shaky, and, despite the Pac-12 South technically being wide open, this is a transition season, so I wanted to see them tested.  They do seem to have mentally banded together in a way that hadn't yet been present, and more mentally disciplined, so maybe Helton wondering if he'd hold onto his job even a few more games lit the right kind of fire.

Oklahoma State knocked off Texas, woo!  I hope OU gives them another pounding next week, but that's an 8 a.m. game here, so I'll read about it when I wake up.

[Evolution101]

Hurricane Matthew is wreaking havoc on some of the games this weekend:

• Tulane/Central Florida has been moved to November 5.
• Georgia/South Carolina has been moved to Sunday.
• LSU/That Team From Gainesville has been postponed, and actually may not be rescheduled.  LSU offered to move the game to Baton Rouge, but TTFG turned it down.

[Minneapple]

The SEC drama is delicious. Florida and LSU are taking shots at each other. LSU offered Baton Route OR a neutral site and Florida said no. Brett McMurphy tweeted that LSU refused to play on November 19 (both teams would buy out the cupcakes they have scheduled) and LSU's AD said that was a flat out lie. The SEC apparently doesn't want them to play Sunday because NFL (even though it's okay to play USC-Georgia on that day).

Meanwhile Tennessee fans are in the midst of a meltdown because Florida could win the East by percentage points even though Tennessee beat them head to head. The conspiracy theory is that Jeremy Foley is cozy with the SEC commissioner and is leaning on Greg Sankey to cancel the game outright.

[KBrownie]

I don't usually post in this thread, LOVE the commentary though, but I feel like I must reply in regards to this LSU/Florida nonsense.  

Full disclaimer: I'm a Gator.  Graduated in 2005, bleed orange and blue, and all that jazz.  However, none of that matters.  The football game, which at the end of the day, no matter how much money is involved, is just a game and doesn't matter in the big picture.  I had plans to travel to Gainesville this weekend from Palm Beach County, spent money on tickets, etc., but all that went out the window when it became clear that the big, potentially catastrophic, category 4, borderline category 5 hurricane that's already killed 800+ people was headed towards the state of Florida.

The conspiracy theories behind this are sort of silly and frankly insulting to the millions of people who've been affected by, and will continue to be affected by this hurricane long after it passes.

There's a thousand reasons that are perfectly reasonable and logical why this game couldn't happen this weekend.  None of them have to do with UF being scared of playing in Baton Rouge, or wanting to avoid the game altogether, or Jeremy Foley being in cahoots with the SEC.  Jeremy Foley and the University of Florida can't control the weather.  They didn't steer the hurricane towards the state to get out of a football game.  The only discussion that's relevant right now is if or when it can be rescheduled.  If it can't be arranged, then it can't be arranged.  So what?  No one died.  Big f-ing deal.  It is what it is.  The right decision was made.

It's hilarious that people from or fans of schools from Louisiana, and even Florida itself don't get why this game couldn't happen this weekend.  Or on Monday.  Hurricane Matthew has been especially unpredictable and hard to track.  As a resident of the east coast of South Florida, I've been following this thing for a couple weeks now and the track has been all over the place.  Even Thursday night when it was sitting forty miles off the coast of Palm Beach County, the eye wobbled to the east suddenly which spared our area hurricane force winds.  No one knew exactly where it was going to go.  And given the size of Matthew and direction it was going, wherever it ended it up it was going to impact the entire width, coast to coast, of the state.  That's usually how hurricanes work in Florida.  So yeah, Ganiesville isn't on the coast of Florida.  It's actually about as much inland you can get in this state, but again when you're dealing with a storm that's a few hundred miles in diameter, with category four wind speeds at the center, they're going to get some significant impact.  

If you've never been in a hurricane, they usually aren't just one-day events either.  Depending on the preparation for, damage, and aftermath, especially for a major hurricane, areas can be affected for days, or even weeks beforehand and afterwards.  Lots of people from the coastal areas who either chose to or were forced to, due to mandatory orders, evacuate went to Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, and other inland or west coast cities because they weren't going to get the worst of the storm and where there would be hotels and other accommodations.  Gas has been in short supply since Monday.  So yeah, Gainesville probably is fine in terms of damage, but the coast got hit pretty hard.  There's a lot of damage and power outages are widespread.  Most of the manpower in the state, including, yes, Alachua county and Gainesville, in terms of emergency services, security, and police, are helping with after-effects of the storm.  So no football this weekend. 

As to the speculation and conspiracy theories about why Jeremy Foley nixed the idea of going to Baton Rouge or some other neutral site, it's all nonsense.  Again, this storm was all over the place as far as the track.  No one really knew for certain it was headed towards Florida until Monday.  Forecast tracks had it curving north like it ended up doing, but far east of the state of Florida.  By then it was too late to try and organize that trip.  And again, no one wanted to ask security and law enforcement to divert manpower away from preparation for the category 4 hurricane for a football trip.  Also, you were asking all of the members of the University of Florida football staff to leave their families to fend for themselves during the hurricane.  Most people who live in this state have family all over the state and again, brought people into Gainesville to escape the storm.  Or they didn't want to leave their own families in Gainesville on their own not knowing exactly what Matthew was going to do.  Florida also has 50 players who are from the coastline impacted by the storm who were obviously concerned about their homes and families.  I guess they all should just be robots who only exist for the entertainment of college football fans who are worried if their team makes it to the SEC Championship game.  I guess that's all fine and dandy when you and your loved ones aren't staring a catastrophic hurricane in the face.

I want to see the game played.  The best option seems to be playing on November 19 and buying out the the other teams, but I can see why LSU doesn't want to agree to that.  It's not the best for UF either.  To have two back-to-back big rivalry games, since we would have to travel to Tallahassee the next week.  Sure, not playing would maybe seem to work to Florida's advantage, but no one is manipulating it to be that way.  No one is trying to avoid playing.  If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.  If it does, it does.  Oh well.

Edited October 8, 2016 by KBrownie
Grammar

[Moose135]

I don't particularly follow college football, but I had to comment on a couple of ugly games today.  Notre Dame and NC State played on a pond in Raleigh, NC thanks to steady, heavy rain and high winds from Hurricane Matthew.  Play was suspended at one point due to lightning, but the field was a mess, players slipping and sliding, hard to hold the ball.  I can't imagine sitting through the downpour for 3 hours as a fan.  Now, VT and North Carolina are doing the same in the same conditions at nearby Chapel Hill.  What a mess...

Edited October 8, 2016 by Moose135

[Artsda]

The games should have been cancelled like LSU vs Florida. Both NC games are looking like Mud Bowls. 

Early this morning the Nascar race for evening was cancelled because even if it stopped raining they didn't want fans traveling in that. 

[roamyn]

We live only a few miles from NC State's stadium and it's utterly ridiculous that game was played.

The Mall which still downhill 1/2 mile from us was closed at 1:30.  There's a large creek/small river behind it, and the road is closed, from our development down.

I don't understand why the safety of the players on the field, or the fans driving to the game, wasn't important.  They could've delayed it one day.

Even our ahole governor implored people to stay home.